After A Decade of Second Childhood
by Loyal DC Fan
Summary: A decade has passed since that fateful day. BO had been taken down, but no permanent antidote available. Conan moved on after a final goodbye from Shinichi. Detective Boys are still together but Conan's officially the leader now. They now get an interesting but dangerous international case. Read as our heroes uncover the mystery of the decade. Rated T just in case. ConanxAyumi
1. Prologue

**Author's note: I'm new to writing fanfics, so if there's anything that you don't like, please calmly point it out.**

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**Prologue**

Ten years has passed since that fateful day.

The Black Organization was finally been brought down after two years of struggling by Conan and his allies. But unfortunately, there's no permanent antidote to APTX4869. After a week of mental breakdown, emotional tantrum, and huge dilemma, he finally came to a heartbreaking conclusion: he NEEDS to let go of Ran.

So he took one last temporary antidote, turned back to Shinichi, and went to the Detective Agency. He told Ran to move on since it would be the last time they would ever see each other again. He told her that he only loves her as a sister, best friend, and childhood friend, but not more when Ran confessed her love to him. Ran's heart was broken as she broke down while Shinichi bid a final goodbye before leaving. He then stayed at his house reminiscing all the memories he had with Ran while crying.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to let go of Ran and move on if he stayed near her, so he made a harsh decision: go to America. With the FBI Agent Jodie Starling's help, he went to NY where the FBI HQ is located. He spent a year there training while the only ones who knew about it were his parents, Haibara, and Hakase.

At the age of ten, Conan went back to Japan as a top FBI Agent in Japan that has the authority to arrest a criminal on spot in case the police aren't near.

Since then, he has been working as a detective, sometimes alone, sometimes with the Detective Boys, to help the police solve difficult crimes. By now he has earned himself several titles: "The Great Detective of the East", "The Savior of Tokyo Police Force", "Leader of the Youngest Detectives in History", "Kaitou Kid's Rival", "The Modern Sherlock Holmes", and a name that's only known to Beika Police Force, "The Angel of Doom" since he's present in more than 90% of the crime scenes in Tokyo.

He and the Detective Boys opened up their own detective agency in the Beika district, named "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson's Detective Agency". All five members of the Detective Boys received a detective badge from the police. They also kept the new detective badges that are made by Agasa Hakase with them all the time. Now that all the members are 17, they received their first international case.

Our story begins here.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Invitation to China**

**A.N.: Sorry but because of the coming traditional holidays I won't be able to update regularly. I'll try my best to update the third chapter before next weekend ends.**

**Replies to reviews are at the end of this chapter.**

**I forgot the Disclaimer last time so here it is: I do not by any means own Detective Conan since I'm not Japanese! :D**

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It is just another normal day inside the "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson's Detective Agency".

The agency is slightly larger than the "Mouri Detective Agency". There was a row of windows with the agency name on them. In front of them, in the middle, sits a large working desk with a computer, laptop, notepad, and telephone on it along with a wheeling chair. To the desk's left is a smaller working desk with a laptop and TV on it. To the main desk's right sits another desk that has two laptops and a photo frame with a group picture on it. Other than the main desk which only has one wheeling chair, the other two desks both have two wheeling chairs. All desks have six drawers, three on each side. In the middle of the room sits three couches. One faces away from the windows, other two couches are sideways from the window and faces each other. Between the couches sits a fairly big coffee table. The entrance is facing the windows and has one set of staircase and an elevator for disables. The bathroom is on the right hand side after immediately entering the office, while a kitchen, for making drinks for clients or visitors and for Genta, is on the left hand side, directly facing the bathroom door.

On the main desk, Conan was reading one of his favorite mystery novels; Mitsuhiko went to collect the day's mails; Ayumi and Haibara were chatting about… _something_ on the couches;and Genta was complaining about not having enough breakfast. In short, that is just another peaceful day for the Detective Boys.

As Mitsuhiko came back with a handful of mails, he started to sort through them.

"Um… Fan mails for Conan-kun, fan mails for Haibara-san, fan mails for Conan-kun again, Conan-kun, Conan-kun, Haibara-san… fan mails for me, fan mails for Conan-kun, AHA!" Mitsuhiko's sudden cry startled the rest of the occupants of the office.

"Look! We've got a case! This huge letter is even sent from another country!"

As all of the young detectives gathered around him, Mitsuhiko took the five-page letter out and started reading it:

"**Dear Mr. Edogawa Conan and the rest of the Detective Boys:**

**We've heard about your accomplishments in Japan here in China. Your capabilities had shocked all of us as the youngest of our Ace detective is already twenty years old. We, Li Detective Union, the finest detectives in China, have an interesting international case that involves at least five Asian countries. We would like to request help from all neighboring countries' finest detectives to solve this dangerous case before any more countries get dragged into this mess. But to show your effectiveness in solving codes, please follow the clues in the letters that I, Dr. Li Changyue, sent to the following people and piece together the names of people to bring along, date and time of your flight, and the address of our **_**Pont de rendezvous**_**: Mouri Kogorou, Edogawa Conan, Hattori Heiji, Kudou Shinichi, Kaitou KID, Professor Agasa, and Hakuba Sugaru. You'll all arrive in one plane under the disguise of detective meeting. Please remember that you HAVE to follow the instructions given in order to not raise suspicions. I hope you'll enjoy the trip to China. **

** Best Regards,**

** Dr. Li Changyue,**

** Head of Li Detective Union"**

"…"

"…"

"…"

Silence. No one spoke a word after the letter is read.

Finally, Conan spoke up: "Alright guys, looks like we've got work to do. Haibara, you go contact Agasa Hakase and ask for the letter. Mitsuhiko, you go ask the Mouri family for the letter, or at least copies of it. Ayumi-chan, you go with Genta to find Habuka-san and bring him here, and, if possible, tell him to bring KID with him. I'll go contact Hattori. Looks like we're gonna have a busy day…"

After a series of "OK" and "yes sir!" are heard, Conan sighed and went to phone Hattori. After he dialed the number, he waited three rings before someone picked up.

"_Yo! Kudou! Long time no speak! How've you been?"_

"Hi Hattori. I've been fine. But I need to ask you something: did you receive a letter from someone named Dr. Li Changyue?"

"_Ehhhhh? How did you know?! It's only two lines: a code of some sort and a statement that says 'combine code with others to decode completely.' It's pretty weird…"_

"OK. Listen, come to Tokyo as fast as you can. I'll explain everything when everyone arrives. Bye."

"_Wait! You mean tha-" beep! Beep! Beep!_

Conan sighed as he hung upon Hattori. He smiled.

"Well, now it's waiting time."

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**Reply to reviews:**

**Hai-edogawa: Sorry but as the summary indicates: this is a ConanxAyumi fanfic. But my future stories can be CoAi since I have nothing against CoAi or ShinRan. But I'm strongly against ShinShi, KaiShin, and HeiShin.**

**Kudo2315: If you meant to ask why ConanxAyumi it's because I like this pairing the best. **

**Mai-chan63: Well, let's hope that I won't disappoint you! :D**

**P.S.: I update irregularly so don't be surprised if I don't update for two weeks. But I promise I won't disappear more than a month. That is… As long as I'm still in US.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks everyone who reviewed my story! I actually didn't expect that much reviews just in 24 hours… But still, THANKS!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DC since I'm non-Japanese.**

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**Chapter 2: Gathering of Letters**

Conan decided to continue reading his mystery novel while waiting for the others to come back. He had used his detective badge to tell the others that the meeting will be set as 8:00 P.M. that day since Hattori's plane is most probably the one that lands between 6:00 and 6:30.

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Meanwhile, Kuroba Kaito was performing his magic tricks at his own club. Hakuba Saguru just wrapped up the first case since he came back from England, and went towards Kuroba's club. He was just about to enter when he heard voices calling out for him:

"Hakuba-oniisan!" "Hakuba!"

Turning around, his eyes fell upon a teenage girl running towards him with a teenage fat boy at tow. He immediately recognized them as members of the Detective Boys. He greeted them politely.

"Ah, hello Yoshida-san and Kojima-kun. What brought the Detective Boys here?"

"Conan-kun will explain everything to you after you and KID-san come with us while bringing the strange letter you received from someone named Li something with you. Is KID-san inside?" Ayumi answered politely.

"Oh? So you guys also got a strange letter from a Chinese guy? Actually I came here because of that. KID also received it, and since it was coded, and that I was the only detective that lives nearby, he asked me for help."

"Good! So we can actually save some time! We'll meet up tonight at 8 since we have to wait until Heiji-niichan's plane lands, which is at around 6 to 6:30."

"Wait… WHAT? That hot-blooded detective is also going to be there?!

Now Hakuba has completely lost his calm. If there was one thing he did NOT want to see, it would be the hot-headed detective of the west, Hattori Heiji. During the past decade, they would meet up occasionally when Hattori comes to visit Conan and there's a case. Whenever that happens, people would find them arguing while Conan and other police tried to separate them to calm them down three-quarter of the time spent solving the case. As time went by, their dislike towards each other had only increased. People had already rumored that if any of those two wasn't a detective, the other one would already be dead. So it's really not something new that upon hearing that he'll meet up with that hot-headed sleuth again he lost his composure.

After a minute of showing frustration and annoyance, Hakuba finally snapped out of it when Kaito tapped his shoulder and said:

"Hey Hakuba-kun! Glad to see you again! And hi Ayumi-chan and Genta-kun! What brings you two here?"

Ayumi and Genta looked at each other, and then Ayumi answered:

"Oh, we can't give you the details but please meet with us at our agency tonight at 8 while bringing the letter some Chinese guy sent you please."

"Wait, how did you guys know that I received a strange letter from a Chinese guy?"

"Why? Hakuba-niisan told us, of course."

"And why in the word would you tell them about it?" Kaito asked in annoyance while glaring at Hakuba.

"Well, apparently they also got one-"

"_Oi!_ Excuse me but you guys can argue at some other time but don't forget tonight's meeting!"

Genta cut him off impatiently.

And with that, he and Ayumi left the club, heading back to the agency.

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Meanwhile, in professor Agasa's house, a certain fat professor and a certain high-school girl were having a blanket search of the house for a certain letter. After what seemed like infinity, they finally found it behind the TV.

"Ahhh! Hakase! You really need to have a better organization of your letters!" said a very annoyed Haibara.

"Sorry Ai-kun!" Answered the professor sheepishly,

"But what makes this letter so important?"

"We received a letter that says to solve a code we need to get these letters. Wait, that reminds me! We still need to retrieve the two letters inside the Kudou Mansion's mailbox! Hakase, do you have the spare keys?"

"I guess I have it… Wait… I remember I put it somewhere here… AHA! Found it! Here you go, Ai-kun!"

"Thanks Hakase."

With that, she left the modern-looking house and walked towards the Kudou Mansion next door.

It isn't an abandoned house anymore. Ever since he came back from the States, Conan moved in there saying that the Kudous allowed him. He's been living there since then. Of course Ran was sad that her "little brother" was leaving. So she visited him from him from time to time to make sure that he is doing fine.

Haibara was shocked when she only found one letter inside the mailbox is from the Chinese. And it was labeled as "Kudou Shinichi" instead of "Edogawa Conan."

"_Better tell Kudou-kun about this, and Fast!"_ She thought as she ran back all the way to the agency.

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While at the Mouri Detective Agency, Mitsuhiko was having a hard time borrowing the letter since Kogoro had passed out _again_ by drinking, and, to make things worse, under his arms and head were the letters taken from the agency's mailbox. Since he was a polite guy, he doesn't want to be rude by pulling or pushing the old man back into a sitting position in order to retrieve the letter. But luck seems to be on his side, however, since just as he was pondering over what he should do, Eri came down.

Over the last decade, Ran's attempts to get her parents back together finally paid off. In her second year of university, Eri finally agreed to move back to the detective agency. Although Kogoro didn't really change much, but at least he admitted he missed Eri.

Back to the present. When Eri saw Kogoro passed out on his desk, she sighed and rolled her eyes. Then she saw Mitsuhiko, so she decided to ignore the drunkard for now. She proceeded to greet the young detective.

"Hello Mitsuhiko-kun, what brings you here?"

"Hi Eri-san," Mitsuhiko greeted back politely as he bowed, "I'm here to ask if we, the Detective Boys, can borrow the letter you received from a Chinese man named Li. If not, then can we at least have a copy of it?"

"Oh well, I suppose you can have the letter as it doesn't really say anything related to us. Here, let me help you."

As she was talking, she walked over to her husband and forced him to get back into a sitting position. Then she rummaged through the pile of letters and pulled out a huge black envelope.

"Here you go Mitsuhiko-kun! Though I wonder why you would need it, but I know it's not my business to ask. So I will stay quiet."

"Thanks you very much, Eri-san. See you later."

With that, he started walking back towards the detective agency.

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At 6:45 P.M. of the same day, in the waiting section of the "Domestic Arrivals" part of Tokyo Int'l Airport, Conan and Hattori have just met up with each other. Hattori asked what does the letter he received has anything to do with him coming to Tokyo. Conan just told him "I'll tell you at the meeting of tonight at eight o'clock Hattori, just be patient."

After around an hour, they got back to the Kudou Mansion to drop Hattori's luggage. They placed the luggage at one of the guest rooms of the big house. While there, Conan told Hattori to bring the letter with him before he leaves the house.

Then they went to the detective agency to meet up with the others.

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**Reply to Reviews:**

**Eyto: First of all, thanks you. Second of all, it's OK if you have bad English. English is not my native language either.**

**Luckyschoolgirl: Don't worry. From now on I'll try my best to write longer chapters like this one. And thanks. **

**Mai-chan63: Thanks. I'll give you a little spoiler for the next chapter though it's kind of obvious: all people meet up and solve the codes at the Detective Boys' detective agency. **

**Kudo2315: Actually I also am not sure why exactly I like this pairing the most. I guess it's because I don't want a sweet and innocent little girl like her to be broken hearted? And thanks.**

**Attention Readers: This is slightly edited. One more thing: because of the traditional holiday I mentioned before, I can't update frequently. But I WILL try my best to update. Sorry for waiting but please be patient since I also have a bunch of other DC stories planned!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update but I couldn't update earlier since I wasn't able to continue writing until Sunday, February 24, the end of the aforementioned traditional holiday. As an apology, I'll reveal one little piece of information of future chapters: you'll be able to know why Haibara wasn't able to make a permanent antidote for the Apotoxin. But that won't appear before Conan and his gang meets the criminals of this case! So… please bear with me till then! :D**

**Disclaimer: Detective Conan can't be owned by me since I'm as old as itself!**

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**Chapter 3: Decoding**

At 7:59 P.M., inside Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson's Detective Agency, seven detectives were scattered around the main desk where five letters were lying on the desk.

The bespectacled teenager looked at his watch again and said with a sigh "Please don't tell me that out of all people it's _Kuroba _who's late!"

The foreign-looking young man replied "It's still not 8 yet, so he must be right on time. That's his style after all."

As if on cue, smoke erupted from nowhere and a cheery voice echoed throughout the room "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the century's best magician!"

When the smoke cleared, a smirking young man is facing seven VERY angry detectives. Why you ask? Well, all of them now have different hair colors and different clothing. Worst of all: the boys' hands were all cuffed together while the girls' face was covered with something sticky and muddy. After Hakuba somehow managed to open the handcuffs using his skeleton key, Haibara was glaring daggers at Kaito and asking him in a dangerous tone "How do I take this off my face and hair?"

Kaito was sweating bullets under Haibara's unrelenting glare. He answered with a forced calm "you just need to wash your face with water and wash your hair with orange juice to make the glue and dye fade." After the girls left to wash, Kaito was immediately surrounded by the boys. He immediately regretted his prank from what he got: Conan kicked him HARD on his shin and was making him losing balance, Genta punched him on his arm, making it go limp, since Kaito blocked his stomach with it, Mitsuhiko just hit him over the head with his baseball bat, while Hakuba didn't even touch him, he just got a fish out of the fridge and threw it at him. All the boys smirked when Kaito screamed loud and literally jumped three feet high and… well since the roof wasn't that high, so his head was rewarded with a _bang!_ And he fell down out cold.

* * *

When the chaos finally settled down and the magician woke up, they started opening the letters. The six letters were labeled respectively **"Date", "Time", "Room", "Location", "Tickets", and "Instructions".**

They started with the date, which was written in a code:

"**At the memorial day of our dearest founder,**

**The Confu masters shall meet the detectives from East,**

**To silently mourn for the master in Taichi**

**With our comrades."**

Hattori spoke first: "Um… does anyone know who the Confu master they're talking about here is?"

Mitsuhiko ran towards his computer. "I'll go research!"

Then Conan said: "Ok. While he is researching, let's proceed to the time."

So they opened the letter labeled as "time", it read:

"**Under the moonlight,**

**When the clock hands make a victory sign**

**That's inclined towards the past,**

**The detectives from the seas shall meet**

**With the Dragon's descendants."**

Again, Hattori spoke first: "Hey! This code looks like the heist note of the Memories Egg Heist! That one was letter "L" while this is letter "V"!"

Kaito suddenly smirked and said: "And that's why I've figured it out!"

That's followed by a series of shouts "Ehhhhh?!" "Already?!" "What is it?!" "Come on! Tell us!"

He calmly answered: "its 10:50 at night. The 'victory sign' line means the clock hands should make a 'V' sign. That can be 9:45, 10:50, or 11:55 since that's the only times at night when clock hands make that sign. It's 10:50 since that's the only time when the clock hands are "inclined".

"But why do they call themselves 'Dragon's descendants'?!" Ayumi asked.

"That's what Chinese call themselves." Conan replied with a smile.

"Alright let's move on to Location." Genta announced.

So they opened the "Location" letter which reads:

"**The rally point is unique,**

**Because it's given the name of**

**The only man-made structure**

**Throughout the history and world**

**That's visible from space."**

This time, Conan spoke first: "Well, that will be easy to research. Genta, you go research this."

Hakuba said: "Good progress, now we only have the 'Room' code left."

As they proceed to open the "Room" letter, Mitsuhiko suddenly exclaimed "Found it! The Confu master is named Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang Confu group and creator of Confu style Taichi. His anniversary of death is on June 29th, which is in two weeks." (**AN: No one really knows which day he died on, so I just made this up!)**

Then Genta also exclaimed "I also found it! The structure is the famous Great Wall of China!"

"So that means that we will meet them at a place that's given the name "Great Wall" on that anniversary at 10:50 at night, right?" Ayumi said thoughtfully.

"Yup! That's right!" Kaito replied happily.

"Now, can we continue yet?" Haibara asked coldly.

So they proceeded to open the "Room" letter; it reads:

"**In the floor where the rich stays**

**And where the VIP rests,**

**Inside the odd room**

**That's the nearest**

**To the second digit,**

**The meeting shall happen."**

"Well, this letter actually hinted what is the place that's given the name 'Great Wall': a hotel or something like that." Conan said.

"Hey I think I know what it is!" Mitsuhiko declared from his seat in front of the computer, "There's a seven-star hotel in Beijing that's called 'Great Wall Sheraton Hotel'."

"Oh well, I guess this is it then." Hattori replied.

"But what is the room number?" Ayumi asked thoughtfully.

"Mitsuhiko, check the floor plans of the hotel, see which floor is the VIP rooms on. It should be room #9 on that floor since that's the closest odd number before the first two-digit number."

"It's the 25th floor, Conan-kun!"

"Alright, so that means that we're to meet them on June 29th at 10:50 P.M. at room 2509 of the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel in Beijing China. Any questions?" Conan announced.

"Actually, Conan-kun, I had this question for quite some time now. Just who are we going to meet?" Hakuba asked cautiously.

Conan hands him the letter the DB received in the morning and replied casually "Read and you'll understand."

While Hakuba was reading the letter with Kaito and, unfortunately, Hattori, the others went to open the remaining two letters: the tickets and instructions.

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**Reply to Reviews:**

** Kudo2315: I'm not really sure what do you mean…**

** Luckyschoolgirl: First, I know that last chapter was in a kind of rush, but that's because it wasn't really thought before. I focus on the case itself in this story. Second, I don't think I can update a long chapter next time since not much was left to do before they leave Japan, but I might include a little flashback involving how the rivalry between Hattori and Habuka deepened. Third, I don't like OOC so I will try as hard as I can to keep the characters IN character, though I will make Conan look superior towards all others. And don't worry about humor since I have a prank planned out…**

** Mai-chan63: I'll give you another hint about future chapters: Conan makes a choice that probably will shock a lot of fans… That'll be all I will reveal for now, and it's actually will take place Far in the future. **

** ILoveFanfiction-AnimeAdik: Thanks. I'll try my best to update frequently but I won't make empty promises.**

** Gamelover45192: In response to your question, no she won't find out the truth in this story.**

**AN: Again I apologize for updating this slow… But the holiday is done so I might have more time to write. Hopefully. I'm open to all reviews. And thanks for all the reviews! I'm guessing that it'll be around two weeks before I update again. Depends on amount of schoolwork. So see you next time!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**** Sorry for the late update! This chapter is relatively longer but has fewer actions since I'll include some flashbacks that'll explain some questions you have. One more thing: this is the last chapter before they leave Japan. This means that on the next chapter the case will be introduced. **

**Disclaimer:**** I DO NOT own DC by any means since I'm not Japanese.**

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**Chapter 4: Pre-Departure Preparations**

As Hakuba, Hattori, and Kaito finished reading the letter, they went back to where the others are currently reading the letter labeled as **"Tickets"**. All of the Detective Boys minus Conan and Haibara were excited about the tickets. Confused, Hattori went over to peek, and when he did, he was shocked. Inside the envelope are ten tickets, all are of the midday fight to Beijing from Tokyo on June 25th, which is three days from now. But what got them all excited and shocked is that they are First Class tickets.

But more things fell out of the envelope. Apart from the airplane tickets, there are also ten blue cards that are labeled as the traffic card of all of the public transports in Beijing.

After finally getting over the shock and excitement, the group proceeded to open the last letter, the **"Instructions":**

"**After getting to the exit lobby of the Beijing Int'l Airport, follow the sign that says 'Hotel Shuttles' to the front parking. Once there, go to the front most of the line where you'll find the shuttles to your hotel: 'The Royal Palace Hotel', five-star. Once you reached the hotel lobby, mention the name 'Edogawa' and you should receive your keys along with three different types of maps of Beijing. The most important thing is that you have to speak English the whole way. There'll be contact info inside your rooms. See you soon young Sherlock. **

**P.S.: the separate sheet of paper in the 'Ticket' envelope is the confirmation numbers for five extra First Class tickets. The whole First Class cabin is yours. But I advise you to not bring tourists, if you know what I mean. And one more thing: the traffic cards can be used on all public transportation in Beijing.**

"Aha! No tourists! So that means the Brit should not come as he obviously falls into the Tourist Category!" Hattori exclaimed as he finished reading the letter.

"May I have the honor to be receiving your explanation WHY I'm a tourist please, Mr. Hot-Blooded-kun?" Hakuba retorted sarcastically.

All the rest sweatdropped as the babyish bickering between those two started again. Kaito asked Conan privately "Um… Remind me why they are like that again please?"

Conan sighed and replied in a low voice "It's around six years ago, not long after Meguire-keibu finally recognized my detective skills…

* * *

_Flashback:_

_ Conan and the detective boys went to watch a magic show under Kaito's invite. Since Hattori was visiting Conan with Kazuha, he also tagged along. Inside the theater, the gang acquainted with Kaito's girlfriend, Nakamori Aoko, and the British high school detective, Hakuba Saguru. Of course, Conan and Hattori already know Hakuba. As usual, there was a murder, a rather complicated Impossible Murder, in fact. Because the victim's girlfriend was found secretively reading the victim's phone messages and letters, Hakuba automatically assumed that she's the prime suspect while Hattori laughs at his "Silly reason." _

_ "Seems like playing with KID too much made you rusty, huh? Brit! And here I always thought that though you are an incompetent detective, at least you would be better than that old man Mouri at making judgments about suspects! You really shouldn't continue to investigate murders anymore. One day you will put some innocent behind bars!" was Hattori's comment that day._

_ At that time, it is already known to every single detective and police that "Sleeping Kogoro" is too incompetent to investigate cases anymore. So being compared to him had became an unspoken shame for all detectives. This made Hakuba shout back at Hattori for the first time since they first met. _

_ Hakuba defended himself by accusing that Hattori's hot-bloodedness will definitely ruin a crime scene some day and thus freezing the case. Also Hakuba said "Now I know why you like Ellery Queen. It's because you're just like her, a second-class detective who uses parental influence misleading the case! Of course someone like you cannot be the best detective! Your kind of people just doesn't deserve it!" thus enraging Hattori who in turn insulted Holmes and teased Hakuba's owl's name is a very good analogy; he also made fun of Hakuba's time-addictedness as "not confident." This caused the two to banter childishly for at least an hour before Meguire-keibu's patience finally ran out and, using the excuse that Tokyo is not where Osaka detectives should interfere, kicked Hattori out of that investigation. Conan didn't go help since he's also angry at him for insulting Holmes and Watson. Since then, unless it's something VERY important AND urgent, they will always argue for half of the time. Thus, their rivalry grew into something more… terrible._

_End flashback_

* * *

"It's also during the same magic show, the one you invited me to as a celebration of my return, that you revealed your secret identity as KID to those kids. Seriously, your "No One Get Hurts" rule made them think that you are a good person, and that's why you are not behind bars right now." Conan summed the tale up.

Kaito flashed a KID grin and said "Don't forget! I was a _gentleman_!"

Conan rolled his eyes. "Yeah Yeah! A gentleman indeed…"

"_AHEM!"_

Startled, Conan and Kaito turned towards Haibara.

"Now, if you two are done arguing like a child, we need to get out a list of people to bring. And Kuroba-kun, please leave us alone for a minute; I need to talk to Kudou-kun privately."

"Alright." Kaito replied as he walked over to the desk to join the others.

* * *

"Well, what do you need?" Conan asked as he and Haibara walked to a more secluded place in the office.

"When I went to your house to pick up the letters, there's only one letter in the box, and it's addressed to 'Kudou Shinichi' instead of 'Edogawa Conan'."

"Wait a minute. So you're saying that they know who I am?! How?! It's impossible! I never had any contact with any Chinese as both Kudou Shinichi and Edogawa Conan. And I don't think my dad would tell the Chinese shop owner in downtown about me. In the official records, Kudou Shinichi is already marked as 'dead' for years!"

"I don't know, Kudou-kun. But we need to be extra careful."

"I know that. Don't worry. We'll discover the truth soon. Let's go back."

Then they joined the others. Conan asked "So Ayumi-chan, did you decide on whom to bring yet?"

The reaction from the Detective Boys, as always, was instant. "Yeah, we've decided to bring Ran-san, Kazuha-san (Hattori shuddered at the mention of this name), and Aoko-san (Kaito's poker face saved him from shuddering like Hattori at the mention of this name) along!" "Hakase is going, right?" "And we don't want Kogoro-ojisan and Sonoko-san!"

Haibara calmly replied "I agree with those three girls and yes, Hakase is going. And neither do us want those two to come."

* * *

**Reply to reviews:**

** Eyto: Hello to you too! And thanks. **

** Chaosrin: Thanks.**

** Gamelover41592: Thanks for the comment.**

** Kudo2315: It's ok, I understand that autocorrect mess things up sometimes. Thanks for the positive complimentary and it'll be Conan, Haibara, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi who solves the case.**

**A.N.: I'm truly very sorry for updating late, but I'm busy recently with my English project. I will probably not update until the middle of the Easter vacation. Spoiler: They will leave Japan next chapter and discover the basic intel of the case. This case is a little… bloody, just to warn you.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I was kind of busy with school stuffs. But next chapter's waiting time may be less. Anyways, in this chapter, the gang will arrive at China, but it'll be in the next chapter when they get to know about the case. This chapter is gonna include a little romance. Just to warn you beforehand: some deaths are truly… gruesome. Anyways, ON To the Story!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Detective Conan since it is older than me by a few months!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Arrival to China**

Tokyo International Airport, 11:00A.M., June 25th.

Conan and the rest of the Detective Boys met up with Ran, Heiji, Kazuha, Agasa, and Hakuba at the first class lounge of the airport while waiting for Kaito and Aoko. There's still 30 minutes before the boarding starts.

"Huh? They still are not here yet? That's strange… Kaito's not the late type… I wonder what's happening…" Pondered Conan.

But before he could finish his train of thoughts, pink smoke suddenly erupted from nowhere and everywhere and causing a chaos in the lounge as other passengers panicked and ran for their lives. Well… all but those who knew the owner of the smoke. They knew instantly that it's that famous prankster.

_**Bam!**_

"Ow! What was that for Ahoko?"

"BaKaito! Why did you do this?!"

"Hey, it was just for fun!"

"Oh yeah? Then how about some more fun?!"

And as the smoke cleared, two shadows are visible as the one in the back chased the one in front with something that look suspiciously like a mop.

This continued for a long time and was only stopped by the airport's announcement:

"_First-class and Business class passengers of Flight CA958 to Beijing, China please proceed to gate #98 and start boarding. Thanks you for your cooperation."_

"Well, that's our plane! Let's go everyone!" said Conan as he and others grabbed their baggages and boarded the plane.

* * *

3 Hours After, Peking Int'l Airport, T-3C

_"Attention all passengers please: we are arriving at our destination, the Peking International Airport. Local time is 14:27. Outside temperature is 32__°C. We hope you enjoyed this trip. We look forward to the next time we meet. Thanks you all for choosing China Airline. Have a nice day." _The P.A. system of the plane announced.

Soon after, the gang is at the crowded exit of the terminal.

"Wow! I never thought that an airport can be THIS crowded!" exclaimed Ayumi

"Well. From what I've heard, Beijing is a very busy city, and this airport is the only civilian airport in the city, so of course this place would be so packed." Explained Conan, "anyways, let's go find the hotel shuttles."

Soon, everyone is relaxing in their seats in the hotel shuttle that's parked in the front most parking space of the front parking in front of the airport lobby.

* * *

The ride through city was very ecstatic. The three young women and three real teenagers separated into two groups commenting at the sights they saw from the windows.

Shortly, the shuttle stopped in front of a tall building that sits in the corner of a major bridge where two major roads are intersected. The building itself is not very tall at first glance, but it's only because that it's too fat. In front of the hotel is a little park. On the left side of the hotel is a row of foreign restaurants. On the right side of the hotel is a part of the Olympic Park. Outside the park there's a sign that says "Royal Palace Hotel" and below that are five golden stars indicating that this is a five-star hotel. In front of the building's front door there are several other shuttles. Their routes are to the four train stations of Beijing, respectively. The shuttle parked right in front of the main entrance and started unloading.

Conan and the others went inside the hotel lobby. Everyone sat down on the sofas of the lobby as Conan went up to the receptionist.

"Good afternoon sir, are you here to check in?" the receptionist politely asked.

"Yes. We booked under the name 'Edogawa.'"

"Alright sir, please give me one minute. Ah! So you're Mr. Edogawa Conan? And those people are the ones who came with you? Glad to meet you! My name is Chen. And here are your keys." He said as he placed eight pairs of cards on the reception table. "And here are three different types of maps of Beijing: the capital transportation guide, the newest Beijing political whole map, and a Beijing city map that has details about public facilities. Breakfast will be upstairs on second floor and will last from 6AM to 10:30AM. The east elevators are over there next to restrooms while the west elevators are over here right next to the reception desk. Now our baggage men will help to take your luggage to your rooms which are located on 21st floor. We wish you to have a nice stay." With that said, five strongly built men came to help with the suitcases while Conan had to carry all 16 cards and a huge stack of maps.

The distribution of the rooms is the following: Conan gets the presidential suite (room 2101); Mitsuhiko and Genta get a deluxe business suite (room 2111), Ran get a deluxe business room (room 2120); the Osaka couple and the magician couple each get a business suite (room 2105 and 2106); Ayumi, Haibara, and Agasa get a deluxe suite (room 2116); and finally Hakuba gets a standard suite (room 2121).

* * *

After around an hour of resting and settling in, Conan gathered everybody up to look at the contact info in his room and discuss about the meeting in four days.

"Ok everyone: They left us a phone number and an e-mail address in case we need to contact them. And, according to the schedule I found on my room's desk, we have the rest of today, tomorrow, and after tomorrow all for us. On the 29th, it is highly advised to not go out during the day, for 'unclear reasons'. And at 21:30 on the 29th, a van will be picking us up."

"Why would it be bad if we go out during the day on the 29th?!" asked Hattori annoyed.

"No idea…" replied an exasperated Conan, "well, why are you guys still here? Shouldn't you go and have fun in this city while we can?"

With that Conan all but pushed them out of his room. Ayumi was the last to leave. Just before she left the room, she asked "hey, Conan-kun, are you free the rest of today?"

"Yep, I have nothing to do."

"Then, um… can you come with me to tour the city a bit please?"

Conan turned a bit red. "Sure!"

* * *

They toured the Forbidden City together the rest of the afternoon. At evening, they stopped by a local western restaurant to eat dinner.

"Thanks you for accompanying me this afternoon Conan-kun. I really enjoyed it." Ayumi said shyly as they walked into the restaurant.

"Anytime Ayumi-chan!" Conan replied with a smile.

Then they sat down to order.

But (as you may have expected) not long after their food came, a man at a nearby table fell to the ground grabbing his throat. "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The restaurant immediately got hysterical.

Conan and Ayumi instantly got to action.

"FBI, NOBODY MOVE!" Conan shouted as he pulled out his badge and rushed to the victim's side with Ayumi in toll.

Conan looked around the victim as Ayumi checked the victim's pulse. Ayumi whispered to Conan "Too late; he's already dead."

Conan then shouted to the frozen crowd "Someone call the police!"

* * *

Soon the police arrived, and Conan and Ayumi helped them to solve this case.

The case is simple: his best friend is jealous of him having a "perfect life", so he called him out on a dinner and poisoned him. He was planning to make his escapade as soon as the chaos began, but he never expected an FBI agent would be in this restaurant at that time. Soon the culprit is cuffed and brought away.

As Conan and Ayumi walked out the restaurant together, Ayumi noticed Conan is deep in thought. "Conan-kun, dous-dano (What's wrong)?" "Ne, Ayumi-chan, don't you find it weird? It seems like the police officers were expecting us. When we introduced ourselves, they looked as if that they knew we would be there." "Um… now that you mentioned it, it IS weird…"

* * *

Meanwhile… back in the restaurant

Two men coated in black walked outside the restaurant. "Apparently THEY have arrived to China. We need to report this to the superiors immediately." One of them said to the other.

"OK. You go report while I'll follow them to see if I can find out their hotel." The other replied. With that, the two separated and headed for their new destinations.

* * *

Back at Conan and Ayumi

As they are walking back towards their hotel, Conan suddenly tensed up. _'Someone's watching me!'_

"Ayumi-chan, listen carefully: someone is following us. We need to capture him. I remember that there's a dark alley up ahead. When we pass by that alley, straightaway, and quickly, go into that alley so we can ambush him. Got it?" Conan whispered to Ayumi.

"Understood, Conan-kun."

* * *

As they walked, they suddenly disappeared in front of the black-coated man. Confused, the man walked near to get a better view. Suddenly, a round-shaped object hit him square on the head, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground in surprise. When he turned to see who attacked him, he's shocked to see the two he's been following for the past half-hour are watching him intently.

Then Conan opened the lid of his wristwatch stun-gun and aimed at him.

"Who are you, and why were you following us?" Conan asked in a cold voice.

Surprisingly, the man laughed. "Don't expect me to give you any answers, _Edogawa-kun!_" he said sarcastically, "but I can tell you this: your death is near! Muahahahaha!"

Both Conan's and Ayumi's eyes opened wide with shock. "You… know my name?! How?!" Conan asked somehow uncertainly.

The man snorted. "Everyone in our gang knows your name. And the reason? It is for us to know… and for you to find out!"

Suddenly, the man fell limp on the ground. Startled, Conan cautiously felt his pulse, but he discovered that he's already dead.

After a close inspection of the corpse, he found out that there's a small needle, very similar to his own stun-gun's needle, stuck at the man's neck.

"Seems like that a storm is coming soon…" Conan concluded as he and Ayumi left the scene with clouds hanging from the sky.

* * *

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**A.N.: I'm TRULY SORRY for the late update everyone! But as a high-school undergraduate, there's lots of things to do! To make up for it, I wrote a long chapter this time. And I promise, the next chapter will be up BEFORE July.**


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